As a proud member of the union’s “daytime army,” Lorraine Ferrannini
makes it her mission to recruit and empower more retiree activists. “It’s so
important that the retirees know that they still have a role in our union,
and they can do it,” she said. Ferrannini is a retiree liaison and coordinator
for UFT’s Para Support Line, which was established to help New York City
paraprofessionals navigate retirement.
Despite her packed career, Ferrannini is a self-described late bloomer.
She didn’t attend college until she was 30, and it was then that she decided
to dedicate her life to special education. She was a paraprofessional in
New York City’s District 75 for seven years before becoming a special
education teacher there. District 75 provides highly specialized
instructional support for students with significant physical and emotional
challenges. Ferrannini taught for 21 years. “I think God put me on this
earth to do just that, to work with those students and to help them and
their parents.”
When she first joined the UFT as a substitute teacher, Ferrannini was astonished to discover that there
was an organization established explicitly to support workers. She has been a staunch unionist ever since,
serving as a chapter leader and delegate before retiring in 2019.